History-Making Astronaut

Stephanie Wilson ’88 lived out nearly every child’s fantasy when she soared aloft aboard NASA’s space shuttle Discovery in...

Stephanie Wilson ’88 lived out nearly every child’s fantasy when she soared aloft aboard NASA’s space shuttle Discovery in early July, making history as only the second African-American woman to venture into space. The Pittsfield, Massachusetts, native did graduate work at the University of Texas and was selected for NASA’s astronaut class of 1996; she then worked as a capsule communicator (CAPCOM) for orbiting space crews. During her recent 13-day, five-million-mile journey, the former engineering-science concentrator served as a mission specialist and was jointly in charge of operating the shuttle’s robotic arm to transfer cargo to and from the International Space Station.

Stephanie Wilson
Courtesy of NASA

Most popular

As Union Protests Continue, Stephen Colbert and Yo-Yo Ma Event at Harvard Cut Short

A conversation between the comedian and the celebrated cellist was interrupted by a fire alarm in Sanders Theatre.

Cancellations, Disruptions as Harvard Graduate Student Strike Enters Second Week

Some faculty complain about the protests’ effect on students.

In Harvard’s House System, It’s All Fun and No Reality

Can the College do more to prepare students for the real world?

Explore More From Current Issue

Two fans celebrate in front of a TV showing a football game.

A new Harvard Kennedy School project aims to harness the power of feral fandom.

Illuminated hanging sculptures resembling organic forms, casting warm light in a dim space.

Artists Enzo Camacho and Ami Lien turn a colonial symbol from Cambodia inside out.

A woman jogs on a path beside a boy riding a bicycle, surrounded by trees.

Why Harvard Medical School is training physicians to think more like coaches